Reed Wischhusen: Man fascinated by Dunblane massacre planned to kill

Jurors were shown a picture of Reed Wischhusen in a police-style uniform

"Revenge is on my mind, it's a powerful motivator, be nice to get back at the people who caused me stress and worry over the years, it's been eating away at my brain like cancer."

Those were the words of Reed Wischhusen, laid out in a chilling 1,700-word document titled 'Revenge' in which he listed how he was going to kill anyone who had ever wronged him.

The 32-year-old Lidl warehouse worker lived in Wick St Lawrence, a small village in North Somerset. He planned to put it on the map in the most horrific way.

He has been found guilty of a string of offences at Bristol Crown Court, including having an explosive substance with intent to endanger life and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Wischhusen told the court his four-page document was a "fantasy story", something he never meant to actually put into action.

But even if that was true, it contained a terrifying insight into the mind of someone unable to handle rejection.

Contained in those four pages was a plan to kill 10 people - including Wischhusen's former teachers.

He wrote about throwing bombs at his former school in Worle, before killing Avon and Somerset Police officers in an attack on their HQ in Portishead.

Wischhusen's writings showed his obsession with other mass killings such as the Dunblane school shooting in 1996, when Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and their teacher.

Jonathan Rees KC said the defendant had a "macabre interest" in killers like Hamilton.

The Oklahoma bombing of 1995, the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 - both were also referenced in his document.

Wischhusen listed all the people he believed had wronged him, from alleged schoolyard bullies to police officers who denied him a shotgun licence.

One person would be a target because they turned the shower on his school work, another because they pinned him against a wall, he wrote.

He said he would "definitely waste" the police officer who had rejected his shotgun licence.

In a chilling note he said he purposefully let other officers go so they would experience survivor's guilt as that had worked well for Hamilton.

Wischhuse was denied the shotgun licence twice because police felt he was "unable to handle rejection" and had a "childlike view of the world".

The court heard from a psychiatrist who found Wischhusen had an autism spectrum disorder and had a "lower than average range of intelligence".

One of the guns police found in Mr Wischhusen's home

Wischhusen's 'Revenge' document outlined his horrific schedule for the day he would go on a rampage.

The day would begin with a "diversion stage" to "get back at the school" where he would kill teachers and throw pipe bombs before driving off.

Wischhusen then explained he would use the chaos caused by that kind of attack to trigger a fire alarm at police HQ, planting bombs at fire assemble points before "opening fire at staff with submachine guns etc" before committing suicide.

'Amuse myself'

Wischhusen outlined an alternative attack for the police HQ where he would "ambush and kill staff sitting outside eating lunch" before entering the building and opening fire.

But he was on trial because he did more than just commit his thoughts to paper.

Over a "sustained period" Wischhusen collected an "armoury" of homemade weapons including pistols, sub-machine guns and a shotgun.

He also gathered ammunition, grenades, bombs and poison, the court heard.

Reed Wischhusen worked in a Lidl warehouse for nine years

Among the items police found during a raid on his house were a police uniform, badges and handcuffs and a large hunting knife.

Yet Wischhusen said the document and its chilling plans were not ever meant to be carried out.

"I accept it is not the most reasoned piece of thinking and includes me killing myself twice, but I have absolutely no intention of doing anything about it.

"I wrote it to amuse myself.

"I repeat I have never harmed anyone at any time in my life and have never wanted to harm anyone else," he said in court.

The trial heard the story of an unremarkable man, who had worked night shifts at Lidl for nine years, living at home with his father after losing his mother aged six.

We were also told he had thought about suicide at least once a week since the age of nine.

Wischhusen would start work at 21.30 BST, come home at dawn, cook his father some food and go to sleep.

A police search at Mr Wischhusen's house found an "armoury" of homemade weapons

When asked by the court if he had many friends, he said "not many" with his main interests being guns, model rockets and amateur radios.

At times during the trial he seemed to be enjoying the attention, even joking. At one point he seemed amused while talking about a wig and had to be reminded by the prosecution that a trial is no place for humour.

The weapons and explosives he had stockpiled, showed what he claimed to be just a fantasy, would force him to have a new reality.

The judge ordered pre-sentence reports at Friday's hearing and remanded Wischhusen into custody until he is sentenced on 15 December.

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